Truths Revealed

'What do I do? Chizuru knows already, Sugawara just said his, but Lucy. What if she likes him? I don't want to make it weird. I don't want to lose her either.'

She sweats as she contemplates what she should do next. Overwhelmed, she finally makes a decision with a deep breath. Not wanting to lie anymore to the friends she has slowly come to hold dear, she lowers her head so her bangs cover her eye. 

"I… I like… Ryuji…"

She admits in almost a whisper. Chizuru smiles, excited that she admitted it. Sugawara nods in approval. She slowly lifts her head and looks at Lucy who stares at her. She stares for a moment before giving a big smile.

"Of course you do. Do you know how many people confess to him every year? At least four." She holds up her fingers. "People always tend to like him more than the rest of us due to how attractive he is. I've seen it with my own eyes for as long as I can remember. There's nothing to be ashamed of."

Shiori lifts her head more now, surprised and relieved.

"Yeah, you're right."

"What made you like him?" Chizuru asks.

"I don't know, he's really cute and caring despite how expressionless he can be." She says while fidgeting a little.

"He's definitely expressionless, I'll tell you that haha!"

Lucy laughs. Chizuru shifts her attention to Lucy.

"Okay, now cough it up. Who do you like?"

"Me? No one. I have a hard time finding anyone attractive. I'm just doing me."

Lucy responds casually, leaning back with a cool smirk. Chizuru gives her a look of surprise but shrugs as that is a valid response.

"Now, if you'll excuse me. I gotta use the bathroom."

Lucy says with a sigh as she gets up and leaves the room. They watch her leave, Shiori looking intently as Chizuru sweats a bit. 

"I'm gonna… make sure she doesn't need any help."

She gets up and leaves the room as well. Sugawara looks at Shiori, confused. 

"Need help with… pooping?"

Shiori just shrugs, shifting her attention to him.

"So you really like Haru, huh?"

"Oh, yeah. I do." He blushes. "Do you honestly think I have a chance with him?"

Shiori nods confidently.

"You both are very cute. I love your dynamic. It inspires me."

She says with a proud smirk. Sugawara lights up.

"Really?"

"Yes. If you actually like him then I say go for it. Trust me, I know how hard it is to speak your mind but at least try to let him know somehow."

Sugawara gives her a somewhat confident smile as he is still very shy. Down the hall, Chizuru follows behind Lucy as she goes into the bathroom. Chizuru waits at the door for a moment. She rubs her fingers against her palm, unsure of what to do before knocking. 

"Lucy? Are you okay?"

There is no response for a moment before she opens the door a crack.

"Yeah. I'm fine. What's up?"

Lucy gives her a confused look as she pokes her head around the door. She steps back and opens the door to let Chizuru in. She steps in as Lucy closes the door behind her. Chizuru stands against the wall as Lucy leans against the counter. They stand in silence for a moment.

"Are you sure you're okay?.."

"I'm fine Chizuru. What's got you so worked up right now?"

"I don't know… I just… I feel like you're upset about Shiori liking Ryuji…"

Lucy looks down for a moment but not with a look of sadness. 

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. I mean it's not like I don't like him or anything."

Chizuru looks up surprised and concerned.

"So you are upset??"

"No, no! Haha, that's not what I meant."

She waves her hand to calm her down a bit while laughing before lowering her hand. She holds onto her arm with her other hand.

"I mean, I've thought about it. What it'd be like to be with him like that… I like the thought but… I could never do it."

Lucy admits in a soft voice. Chizuru looks at her, concerned.

"If I ever pursued my feelings for him then that'd mean things could change. What if he said no? What if we break up? Now, what would Shiori think? Too many things could go wrong… I don't want to risk that."

They stand in silence as Lucy holds onto her arm tighter now. 

"Lucy…"

"It's fine though. I like the way things are now. I like being happy the way I am. As a matter of fact, I'm kinda relieved Shiori likes him. She's a nice girl and it makes things easier not to worry if he does or doesn't like me if he's busy liking her, ya know?"

She laughs as Chizuru smiles, still looking concerned for her.

"Anyway, I'm okay Chizu, really I am. It's not like anything's gonna change. But you have to promise me you won't tell anyone what I told you."

Lucy says while pointing her finger at Chizuru. She smiles back but gets a slightly conflicted look.

"I promise."

"Good."

Lucy smiles at her as Chizuru smiles back a bit.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I do gotta go pee for real." Lucy says casually.

"Oh! I'm sorry!"

She awkwardly giggles as she leaves. Lucy smiles as she watches her but slowly stops smiling once Chizuru closes the door behind her. 

'It's okay. As long as things stay the same, everything will be okay. Right?..'

Chizuru heads down the hall back to her room before stopping in the hallway. She holds her head down and has a strained look on her face.

"All these secrets… All these feelings… There's so much… Will everything be okay?.."

Chizuru whispers before she shakes her head and slaps her face gently.

"No! I can't think like that! I have to be there for my friends. I have to support them. As long as we all stick together, everything will work out just fine! It has to!"

She gets a confident look and heads back to her room to her friends.

Not long after that, spring break rolls around. Shiori and Hikigaya are in their rooms, hanging out, not doing much when their phones vibrate. Shiori looks at it and sees Chizuru messaged their group chat. 

'I'm not boredddd!'

'What do you want to do then?' Lucy responds.

'Are yall busy??'

'Not really. It's spring break' Hikigaya types.

'Then let's make plans! Tomorrow, meet at my place, get ready for a wet time!'

'Wet..?' Ryuji texts.

Shiori gets a look of slight surprise and excitement.

'Beach?' Shiori guesses.

'Yes sir!!'

Shiori smiles and gets up from her desk and rushes over to Hikigaya next door. She swings open the door and startles Hikigaya. She excitedly takes a seat on his bed as he watches her come in.

"You know, you should really knock. You never know what I could be doing."

He says with a playfully mischievous look. Shiori just rolls her eyes.

"So about tomorrow."

"Excited are we?"

"Shut it."

He smiles at her but does as told. Shiori inhales a bit and sits up looking a little nervous and embarrassed.

"Look… I've never actually… gone to the beach before…"

She looks down, slightly embarrassed, waiting for him to laugh at her but when she looks up slowly, she just sees him looking at her intently waiting for her next words. After a moment of silence, he nods.

"And..?"

"You're not… gonna laugh at me?" She asks, surprised.

"Why would I laugh? Not like I've been either. It's not exactly my cup of tea."

He cocks his head to the side and motions his hand matter of factly. She gets a slight look of surprise but nods as well.

"I've never been so I'm not entirely sure what to do at the beach… And I wanted to try to make a move toward Ryuji since I'll be…" She swallows nervously. "In a bikini and all…"

She is blushing and embarrassed. Hikigaya gets a bit jealous seeing her like this for someone else but starts screaming at himself in his head.

'Stop feeling this way! Why do I even care? It's fine.' "Well that should be easy enough. He may be a little weird but he's still a guy after all. And your friend."

Hikigaya says, clearing his thoughts away. Shiori gets a conflicted look.

"It's not just that though.. I really want to wear one… But at the same time I don't. It's just very frustrating."

"Why don't you want to?"

She looks at him and gets a little irritated.

"You don't have to know alright? I'm just conflicted and venting."

He notices her sudden defensiveness and understands it must be something personal so he pulls back from the question. He instead looks over at the corner of his bed. He gets up and grabs something. As Shiori follows him with her eye, she is suddenly hit in the face with a piece of clothing. 

"Hey! What was that for?! Huh?"

She looks at it and realizes it's his blue button up shirt. She looks up at him confused while he sits back down in his chair. 

"I say go for it. Show off a little. Maybe he'll notice how cute you are."

She blushes a bit at his comment and he notices. He starts blushing more realizing what he just said. 

"I-in your swimsuit and all, ya know? Anyway, you can just wear that over yourself if you start feeling too exposed or something. Then take it off when you're ready."

Her eye lights up a bit at the perfect idea. She looks back down at the shirt and holds it a bit tighter. 

"Thanks.. Hikigaya."

"It's what friends are for."

She nods but then laughs a tiny bit. He looks at her confused.

"What's up?"

"There's just one other problem… I don't actually own a swimsuit."

"That shouldn't be a problem."

Another voice says. They both look over, surprised, to see Ace standing in the doorway.

"I'm sorry. I was just walking by and heard you so I thought I'd help. Come on, I'll take you shopping. Give us a chance for some girl's time."

She winks at her. Shiori is stunned for a moment before agreeing. 

Ace drives them to a nice clothes store. Shiori has never been here before so she looks around in awe. They come to the section where they'll be spending most of their time. They look around for a bit and come to three last picks. Shiori tries them all on but can't decide. 

"Ace, I can't figure out which one I like the most. What do you think?"

She holds up the options. Ace puts her hand on her chin and thinks intently. 

"Well which one are you most comfortable in?"

"They all fit me well and I think they look good on me. But I don't want to get all three…"

"Oh, well don't worry. I'm buying today so you just worry about looking your best."

She says casually as Shiori gets a shocked look.

"What?! No way, I can't let you do that!"

"Hey, don't worry about it. We're pretty much family now. I'll take care of you like I would Hiki."

Shiori wants to argue about it more but Ace hushes her.

"Back to the matter at hand. Hm…"

She inspects them more before coming to a decision.

"I say go with that one." 

She points at the more normal one. It is black and red striped with white lacing around the top and bottom. It ties at the hips, back and neck. 

"We don't want to go too extravagant for your first set but be just cute enough."

Shiori looks at it and nods happily. As they check out and leave, Shiori looks at Ace. She blushes a bit and gets a little embarrassed.

"Thank you… For today."

"Don't mention it. It's the least I could do to pay you back."

"For what?"

Shiori looks confused. Ace smiles at her.

"For making my brother so happy."

She rubs Shiori's head and she smiles back.

Once they get home, Shiori hangs out in her room and looks in the mirror, holding the new swimsuit up to herself, smiling happily. She puts it down and sits on the edge of her bed before falling back on it.

'My first beach day!' She thinks with an excited look on her face.